This is exactly what I was talking about in this piece from yesterday discussing why I thought the DCCC ad missed the mark. I have to give credit to Representative Scott Garrett where credit is due. He may have an energy voting record that would infuriate his constituents, but his response to this ad was perfect.
Garrett has gotten better over the last two years at giving these matter of fact interviews; and now he gets to portray himself and those attacked as the victims of an unfair assault in the absence of results by Democrats. And you know what; people will eat that up.
As the "most trusted" news channel in America, it's probably too much to ask the Fox News anchor not to lead Garrett; or maybe she could have pointed out that 85% of our natural resources are not locked up.
While 85% of our coastline may be off-limits to drilling, according to the EIA, there is a little under 25% of our proven reserves that are non-producing in total (whether by corporate choice or regulation). Of that, 9.1% are in Federal waters off shore.
If we were to start producing a million barrels a day from the non-producing Federal area, it would last us five years and off-set imports by less than 10%. Oh, and it will take 8 to 10 years to get there.
However, this info which took about 15 minutes to find, likely won't ever make it in front of as many eyes as Garrett did playing the victim card over the last 48 hours. It's the sad reality of today's politics, and it's part of what needs to change. However, it's the game we play these days and Garrett has gotten very good at it.
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